rather than just reading from a textbook and sitting in lectures. I wanted the ability to take the things I learned in the classroom to a real-life experience."

Q:

What business did you start as a class project?

A:

My group came up with the idea of bringing

Dunkin' Donuts coffee to campus. With Middlesex being a commuter school, we figured stopping for coffee in the morning could be difficult for people. My group interviewed staff and students, and the results showed they all felt the same way.

Q:

What was the most challenging aspect of this process?

A:

Figuring out the differentials of coffee and which brand to

choose. Everyone has different tastes and preferences. We surveyed our participants to see which coffee they enjoyed more: iced or hot, flavored or black, and all the in-betweens.

Q:

What would you do differently, in hindsight?

A:

I would have added more variety in the coffee choices. In the

end, we ended up staying with hot black coffee and bringing cream and sugar for our customers to use.

Q:

What do you like about entrepreneurship?

A:

It gives you the ability to turn your dreams and ideas into reality

.

Student

Rachel Walker

Finding Success as a

Lifestyle Blogger

When Rachel Walker's freshman-seminar blog took off, she dropped out of college and created the brand and website, The Rachel Review (www.therachelreview.com). Now a successful lifestyle blogger, she has returned to college to pursue a degree in Business Administration.

"At first I blogged about being a city girl from Boston who was going to college in Vermont," explained Walker. "It was mostly comedic, but the traffic on the blog was out of the ordinary. When I reached 1,000 followers, I thought to myself, `Wow, I could do this for a living!'"

Q:

Is The Rachel Review successful?

A:

Yes ­ but only I know the work that went into getting the

website where it is today. Working on new content, and planning future events and collaborations keeps the blog successful. But it is a daily effort and I try not to lose focus.

Q:

What do you like best about entrepreneurship?

A:

It can be a humbling process, but it can also be an adventure.

When you are starting out fresh with a business, you don't know a thing (even when you think you do). The whole entrepreneurial process gets you up and out of your comfort zone.

Q:

What do you like least about being an entrepreneur?

A:

Lifestyle blogging is

a new industry, which has its rewards ­ like getting to market first and paving the way with new ideas. But it also has its setbacks. I am solely responsible for each aspect of my business: marketing, content creation, accounting, business development, brand partnerships, production (for videos and photo shoots). It gets really overwhelming sometimes.

Q:

Do you think being an entrepreneur is something that can be taught?

A:

Yes and no: I think being people-oriented comes naturally to

entrepreneurs. Learning how to leverage time, money, people and opportunity? That can all be taught.